Rituals &
Charms

To the Ancient Celt, the world was
a magical, unpredictable place ruled by unseen forces and
supernatural elements. Every rock, tree and river had a
spirit and a force of will attached to it. Never knowing
when he or she might be in the presence of a deity or
nature spirit, the Celts were careful... they approached
the most mundane tasks and projects with a reverence and
ritual born of the need to pacify local gods, and to
avoid being captured by faeries.

Some
rituals were observed by the entire populace, as part of
the sacred fire festivals of Samhain and Beltane. During the celebration
of Samhain (Nov. 1.), the Celtic New Year and the
beginning of the long, dark half of the year, the entire
village would extinguish their hearth fires and
ceremonially relight them from the King's fire. This fire
was ritually lit by the King's chief Druid.

The Pagan fire festival of
Beltane was, in contrast to Samhain, a
celebration of spring - of fertility, new life,
and the awakening of the earth after the long
hard winter. Young people sleep outside all
night, make love, and return home the next day
with flowers in their hair. Another well known
element of the Beltane festival,

was
the dance of the May pole. The Maypole, symbolic of the
world tree, is circled by two rows of dancers spiraling
and weaving in and out, each holding the end of a ribbon
tied to the top of the pole. The weaving ribbons
represent the turning of the earth's axis, the turning of
the seasons, and the turning wheel of the universe.

The
Celts had an almost endless assortment of daily
rituals, charms and prayers, many of which have been
preserved in the Carmina Gadelica. Written down in the
1800s, many of these seemingly Christian prayers and
charms retain much of the Pagan flavor of the Ancient
Celtic world. The average Celtic tribesman and women
probably said prayers and chants throughout the day:
before meals, when drawing water from the well, when
preparing food, before retiring to bed. Indeed every
activity was then inbued with magic and spiritual power.

The
following is a comparison of the Christian and Pagan
variations of a chant.

I am bowing my
head
In the eye of the Mother who gave me birth,
In the eye of the Maiden who loves me,
In the eye of the Crone who guides me in wisdom,
In friendship and affection.
Through thy gift of nature, O Goddess,
Bestow upon us fullness in our need.
Love towards the Lady,
The affection of the Lady,
The laughter of the Lady,
The wisdom of the Lady,
The passion of the Lady,
The blessing of the Lady,
And the magic of the Lady
To do in the world of Abred,

Not much is known
of the rituals practiced by the Ancient Druids, except
what was written down by those who conquered them. Such
documents cannot be taken as a clear and objective
chronicle of Druid activity of the time, as the Romans
were known view the Celtic people in disdain, and
considered them barbarians. The Druids, as the learned,
educated class were wiped out by the Romans, and their
religion and ceremonies banned in an attempt to gain
control of the people, and to replace their gods and
beliefs with Christianity. Thus the Druids were
discredited and painted as 'barbaric, sadistic priests of
a dark religion.'

It is generally
believed that the Druids practiced human sacrifice during
some of their ceremonies, but not much is known about the
ceremonies themselves. Other Druidic rituals are often
referenced in mythological sagas and folklore. The
procedure that Cerridwen used to create her Cauldron of
Wisdom might be a remnant of an earlier, Druidic ritual.
Ross Nichols, past Chief of OBOD (a modern Druid
Organization,) believed that the story of Talieson
contains references to Druidic ritual. The passage where
Cerridwen tied Talieson in a sack and threw him into the
ocean mirrored a Druidic initiation ceremony in which the
novice was put in an rudderless coracle and set adrift in
rough waters.

An Irish ceremony
known as the Tarb-feis,
meaning bull-feast, is briefly described in the Tain. In
the story, the Druid chewed some meat (from the bull,)
then placed it under a stone by the door and slept on the
animal's skin. This ritual was practiced in order to
receive prophetic dreams and visions.

Another Druidic
ceremony was known as the Imbas
Forosna. A Druid entered a
sensory-depravation chamber, and remained under a pile of
skins with other Druids stood around the body chanting,
possibly for many days. At last he or she was grasped and
thrown out of the hut and into the bright sunlight. It
was believed that the shock of being thrust from deep
darkness into bright outdoor light would push the mind
into a higher state of consciousness. Particularly gifted
seers and prophets could invoke the Imbas
without the need of sensory depravation.

Druidism
was revived in the early 18th century, under the
leadership of John Toland (author of "The History of
the Druids," 1719.) Due to the stifling and
intolerant atmosphere of the period, much of this revival
was done in secret, and isn't well known outside of the
circle of the Modern Orders.

This
early Grove of Druidic followers later split off into
subsequent Orders, each with slightly different rituals
and organization. Today, the largest of these
Organizations are the Ancient Druid Order, the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, and A.D.F. (Ár nDraíocht Féin.)
These organizations have revived and recreated many of
the ancient Druid rituals in a form that is relevent
within our modern day society and culture. Below are some
examples of modern Druid ritual, as provided by these
orgaizations.